Litany of penitence

O Lord, our hearts are heavywith the sufferings of ages,with the crusades and the holocaustsof a thousand thousand years.

The blood of victims is still warm.

The cries of anguish still fill the night.

To you we lift our outspread hands.

We thirst for you in a thirsty land.

O Lord, who loves us like a fatherwho cares for us like a mother,who came to share our life as a brother:

we confess before you our failure to live as your children,brothers and sisters bound together in love.

To you we lift our outspread hands.

We thirst for you in a thirsty land.

Sung response: Nkosi Nkosi yibanceba

We have squandered the gift of life.

The good life of a fewis built on the pain of many;

the pleasure of a fewon the agony of millions.

To you we lift out outstretched hands.

We thirst for you in a thirsty land.

We worship death in our quest to possess ever more things;

We worship death in our hankering afterOur own security, our own survival, our own peace,

As if life were divisible.As if love were divisible.As if Christ had not died for all of us.

To you we lift out outstretched hands.

We thirst for you in a thirsty land.

Sung response: Nkosis Nkosi yibanceba

O Lord, forgive our life-denying pursuit of life,And teach us anew what it means to be your children.

To you we lift out outstretched hands.

We thirst for you in a thirsty land.

The Beatitudes – Matthew 5:2-12

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Thanksgiving and intercession

O Lord our God, we thank youfor the many peoplewho have followed your way of life joyfully:

for the many saints and martyrs, men and womenwho have offered up their very livedso that your life abundantmay become manifestand your kingdom may advance.

Sung response: Hale hale hale luja

They chose the way of your Son,our brother, Jesus Christ.

In the midst of trial, they held out hope;in the midst of persecutions, they witnessed to your power;in the midst of despair, they clung to your promise.

Sung response: Hale hale hale luja

O Lord, we thank you for the truththey have learned and passed on to us.

Give us courage to follow their way of life.

For your love and faithfulnesswe will at all times praise your name.

Sung response: Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est

We pray for the millions in our world who must go hungry today,all who are exploited and marginalized because of their caste or class, colour or sex,that they may not lose their hope,and may find the strength to struggle for their dignity.

Sung response: Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est

We call upon you for those who are persecuted, imprisoned, torturedor threatened with death because of their witness to justice and peace.

For those who have “disappeared” because they dared to speak,that their spirits may not be broken by their bodies’ pain.

Sung response: Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est

We remember those who live in regions torn by tension and war,by disaster, famine and poverty…

We pray especially for the Middle East, for Pakistan, for Haiti, for the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the horn of Africa, for Sudan …

(other places and situations can be mentioned at this point)

We pray for the millions of refugees around the world,that in the midst of tears and bitternessthey may discern signs of hope.

Sung response: Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est

Lord, into your hands we commend our earth,

ever-threatened with disaster,

and all persons and situations we have spoken about,

written down or remembered in the silence of our hearts this day.

Sung response: Ubi caritas et amor, ubi caritas Deus ibi est

Strengthen our will for peace and justice;

increase our faith in your kingdom where “love and faithfulness will meet,

righteousness and peace will embrace”

and may your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer – said together in our different languages

We receive the assurance of God’s peace and blessing and we greet one another in the name of Christ’s peace, first saying together:

Blessed is our God, now and unto the ages of ages.

Blessed is our God, who grants us peace and is the source of all peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.

Please take a peace crane with you as a fragile symbol of hope and a reminder to continue our prayers and action for peace. As we leave the gong will begin to sound 65 times again.